Bosnia: Top Officials Charged in Weapons Investigation

Federal prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) filed charges against 11 Ministry of Defense officials for breaking the law while in the process of destroying surplus weapons and ammunition, according to a report by Serbian TV News program RTRS.

Among the accused are former Minister of Defense Selmo Cikotic, former Deputy Minister of Defense Zivko Maranac and current Deputy Minister of Defense Marine Pendes, who are reportedly charged with abuse of power and negligence.

As OCCRP reported in September, the Parliament of BiH has been investigating reports that the Ministry of Defense violated United Nations weapons bans by exporting munitions to embargoed countries in the years following the war.

Evidence in the Parliamentary report showed that large amounts of weaponry went missing between 2006 and 2010, and that some of those weapons were sold abroad. Documents also showed that the Ministry gave two private companies access to the weapons despite those companies lacking licenses or contracts to destroy weapons.

It appears the Parliamentary report set off an investigation by The State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA), which led to the charges now on file with the Prosecutor's Office.